Who is Joselu? Meet the 33-year-old former Newcastle striker who scored brace on debut for Spain national team
Joselu has been one of the stars of the most recent international break after scoring a brace on his debut for Spain. The former Newcastle United forward came off the bench to score twice in Spain's 3-0 victory over Norway in La Roja's opening game of the Euro 2024 qualifiers.
Joselu will be a familiar name for Premier League fans. The Spanish international used to play for the likes of Stoke City and Newcastle United during his time in England. The forward, currently 33, did have a relatively underwhelming time in the Premier League, scoring just 10 goals and providing three assists whilst representing Stoke and Newcastle.
Joselu, however, has played for numerous clubs in Spain, including representing Real Madrid for a brief moment in his career. The Spaniard started his career playing for Celta Vigo after graduating from their academy. He did, however, play for them for just three seasons before joining Real Madrid.
It took the attacker time to break into the first-team in the Spanish capital. He did, however, have an excellent time with Madrid's Castilla team. The forward netted 40 goals and provided eight assists from 73 games for the B Team.
This did lead to a full debut for Real Madrid. Joselu did not start a game for Los Blancos but did come off the bench to make two appearances. The forward scored in both of those games.
The forward's career, however, did not live up to his early expectations. He had a brief stint in the Bundesliga, playing for the likes of Hoffenheim, Eichtract Frankfurt, and Hannover 96 before signing for Stoke City in the Premier League.
After spending two seasons with Newcastle United, the Spain international returned to his native Spain via Deportivo Alaves for a fee of around €2 million. He spent three seasons there, scoring 36 goals and providing 11 assists from 113 appearances.
Joselu finally made his debut for Spain after thriving at Espanyol
Joselu signed for Espanyol on a free transfer prior to the 2022-23 season. The forward has had an excellent start to his time at the Barcelona-based club.
At the time of writing, the former Real Madrid and Newcastle forward has scored 13 goals and provided four assists from 27 matches across all competitions this season. He is currently Espanyol's leading goalscorer this season.
Due to his current good form in La Liga, the forward finally made his full debut for Spain at the age of 33.